In the State of Washington, taxes are based on the assessed values from the
previous year. Property parcel taxes on your 2013 assessment are paid in 2014.
Spokane County is comprised of 124 tax codes areas (TCA) in 2014 that include school districts,
cities, fire districts, libraries, and cemeteries. Your tax bill is determined by
the budget requests of the tax district and the assessed value of your property
parcel. Levy rates (budget requests) are multiplied by each $1,000 of assessed value
to determine your tax bill. For example: If your home is assessed at $100,000 and
the levy rate in your tax district is 14.54067946:

A levy must be uniform throughout a district, even when the district extends into
a neighboring county.

The County, Conservation Futures and the State School levy are uniformly
assessed at the same rate in each of the 124 tax code areas.

Two properties, identical in assessment may pay very different taxes as levied by
the taxing districts they support.

Spokane County has 13 Cities/Towns, 11 Fire, 6 Cemetery, 19 Schools plus Library,
Park, & Transportation that each have their own boundaries.
These districts are governed by locally elected boards who set their budgets through
public hearings.

In 2003 the first TIF (Tax Increment Financing) District in the State of
Washingtonwas created and has subsequenlty been paid off. Several similar areas have been created since that time.
Development of the University District in the City of Spokane represents the
first Local Revitalization Financing area in the county (TCA 14).

Levy Limitations

By statute, each district type has defined levy authorizations and restrictions.

Regular levies are restricted:

To the lesser of the budget request,

The statutory rate,

1% over the highest lawful amount since 1985 (or the Implicit Price Deflator if
the population is over 10,000.)

The table below provides guidelines on the statutory levy rate restrictions for
districts found in Spokane County.

The County Levy of $1.80 may be increased to $2.475 as long as no other levy is
reduced and the sum of the County/Road levy does not exceed $4.05. The County, within
the $1.80 levy must fund Veteran's Relief (RCW 73.08.080), Mental Health/Developmental
Disabilities (RCW 71.20.110).

Once the individual rate is determined, the districts are further checked on the
aggregate amounts known as the $5.90 limit (RCW 84.52.043) and the Constitutional
1% limit (RCW 84.52.050). In 2014, no district in Spokane County was reduced at
this level.

The $5.90 limit is the sum of specific regular levies. For example, in 2014, TCA
0010 finds

the County at

1.3022 (Conservation Futures is excluded from this check)

City of Spokane at

3.0301 (EMS is excluded from this check)

a sub-total of

4.3323 below the limit. Had the sum of these exceed $5.90, the rates would have
been pro-rated. Notes: The State School levy was removed from this check in 1988.

Excess levies are voter approved. No restrictions exist beyond the approval made
by the voters.